2025-09-03 – Winnebago Customer Service Center, IA
We had a rainy night with lows in the 60s. But, the weather cleared in the morning and we headed out for the two hour drive to Winnebago Customer Service in Forest City, IA.
This Forest City location is where all the company’s class A and class C motorhomes are built. (Class B units are built twenty minutes away in Lake Mills, IA.) We registered our arrival for our service appointment that begins tomorrow and set up in a customer campsite right in their parking lot.
The company has a visitor center and museum across the road and we looked over their displays and signed up for a tour of the factory the next morning.
That evening we prepared a dinner of pasta with Italian sausage and zucchini.
2025-09-04 – Winnebago Customer Service Center, IA
The service center opens at 7:30. The technician who would conduct our repairs met us to review at our RV to verify what we needed to have repaired and sent us on our way.
At the visitor center we were introduced to our tour guide, equipped with safety orange vests and safety glasses and boarded a van to take us to the tour locations. Photos are not allowed.
The Winnebago manufacturing facility occupies a 60 acre site and manufactures about 70 percent of all items used in construction of their motorhomes, including custom furniture, sofas, wiring harnesses, tankage and interior components. The main assembly building, nicknamed “Big Bertha,” is approximately 351,000 square feet and includes an 8-football-field-sized assembly line. The facility is considered one of the most technologically advanced RV manufacturing facilities in existence.
Sales in the entire RV industry are down following a pandemic-era boom. The market is now grappling with economic factors like high interest rates and tariffs and it was disappointing to see that only one of the three main production lines was in operation and that line for only one shift.
In any event, the “just-in-time” building process is remarkable to see. Items like walls, roofs and slideouts are manufactured on lines running parallel to the main line to be installed right away. Even the soft goods manufactured today in the Stichcraft building will be installed in an RV tomorrow.
Bill stayed in the service center lounge for the rest of the day, writing, reading and standing by for any questions or word on our repairs. Sandy, meanwhile, visited nearby Pilot Knob State Park. Its main feature is a CCC-era observation tower that visitors can climb for views of the surrounding area.
She also visited the city’s Pammel Park campground adjacent to the Winnebago River. The park also featured a small suspension bridge across the river.
That afternoon Bill was surprised and delighted to hear that service on our unit finished! Originally scheduled to last two days, they were able to complete all the work in one day. In addition, as they performed recall work designed to prevent damage to the house battery charging alternator, they found that both the alternator and regulator had already suffered damage and replaced both expensive items at no charge!
As some rain fell early that evening, and after working out a revised plan for our trip back home, we headed out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant.